Reunion
by Kosaka
Summary: For Squall,the past is a foggy,distant memory.He knows there are things that he'll never remember-people,too.It's different for Cloud.The past feels like the only thing that makes sense anymore-until he's the only one who remembers it. LeonCloud, for Fey
1. Strangers

A/N: AU-ish. This fic takes place in a sort of combo-world that includes FF7, FF8, and Kingdom Hearts. While it's not majorly AU, expect to find discrepancies along the way. Worlds have been merged, and if you sit down to do the math you'll find that characters ages are not quite what you'd expect. This is a gift-fic for the awesome Fey and based loosely on many, many rp's. I always lean a bit more towards the original designs of characters. While this does not effect Leon or Cloud massively here, it DOES mean between the two, Cloud is older. The title 'The Reunion' is a nod to FF7, obviously, but otherwise has nothing to do with it.

I probably won't see Fey again between now and Christmas, so I'm uploading it today. Merry slightly-early Christmas, Fey!

**The Reunion**

_I'll be here..._

_Why?_

_I'll be waiting...here..._

_For what?_

_I'll be waiting...for you...so..._

_if you come here..._

_You'll find me._

_I promise._

**Chapter 1: Strangers**

_I've gotten used to being lied to. I think people lie as easily as they breathe, not because they don't want to be honest, but because no matter what we'd like to believe there's really no way of knowing where the future might lead. For example, I don't think, at three years old, Squall Leonheart could have ever imagined that by the time we were grown half of the world would no longer exist, least of all that tiny orphanage by the sea where we first met. When I was adopted, he told he would wait for me there until I was old enough to come back. I was eight at the time, but still a kid, and so I promised I would definitely return for him. By the time I was an adult, I already knew that neither of us would be keeping those promises. At the very least I was confident that if fate ever conspired to put us in the same place at the same time again, he'd know my name: Cloud Strife. I shouldn't have expected so much out of a toddler._

It was late spring when chasing Sephiroth's after-image landed Cloud in Radiant Garden. At first, he didn't think much about it. As a general rule he'd learned that the world is a big, confusing place over-run with all manner of monsters. He hardly paid them any mind these days--he was chasing much more personal demons. Somehow, the entire meaning of his life had come down to one thing--destroying Sephiroth. There were days he thought if he ever achieved it he would simply cease to exist. There wasn't really any past or present in Cloud's life. He didn't like to think about the past he'd left behind him or the future he might not have. Days bled into one another. Weeks, as it turned out, were nothing more than a pile of days left grouped together in a heap, and months--months were just a larger heap. Cutting through all the trivialities, the only thing that stood out in his mind was the silver-haired villain who so effectively manipulated his very existence. It wasn't an obsession, really. Cloud had determined it was just that he had no life and no motivation to get one. Hanging onto old hatred was much easier than letting the wounds heal.

It was a nice day--sunny, but with a cool breeze. If one could overlook all the heartless, Cloud figured lying back against the cool cement in the square and watching the sky while lazily drifting in and out of consciousness would be a pretty decent way to spend an afternoon, so he let his eyes drift closed. He wasn't really sleeping, but he wasn't really awake either. He was just letting thoughts pass through his mind, none in particular, when a foot connected dully with his ribs.

Cloud grunted and peered up at the features of the broad-shouldered man blocking his sun. "What?" he griped, sitting up.

Leon stared at him flatly. "So you aren't dead then. That's convenient," he replied. A bit of a weirdo though, falling asleep in the middle of the road, he decided.

Cloud rubbed his eyes. He couldn't be seeing what he thought he was seeing. Years had changed him--hell, they'd changed both of them. They weren't kids anymore, for starters. But there was no doubt in his mind who was hovering over him now. A tight knot formed in his stomach as he got up. His gaze traced the scar that marred, but somehow also enhanced, the brunette's features. He wondered if he looked half as awed as he felt to be reunited after so many years, and in such a strange way. Squall had a bag of groceries in one hand.

"Squall, I don't believe it..."

Squall's reaction wasn't what Cloud had been expecting. His expression soured. "Leon," he stated firmly, but not as if Cloud was wrong. It was more like the name 'Squall' somehow rubbed him the wrong way. _'Hyne, he's gotten so tall. Maybe I really am some kind of midget,'_ Cloud thought wryly. He wasn't a fool. He knew the knot in his stomach wasn't entirely nervousness at meeting an old friend again, it was at least part physical attraction--Squall, or Leon if that's what he wanted to be called, had grown up to be strikingly handsome. Bad thoughts, Cloud. Keep your mind on track.

Leon stared at the blond like he'd grown a few extra heads. "Is there something you wanted, or are you just going to stare at me all day?" He didn't catch the familiarity in Cloud's voice. He was used to being approached by people he'd never seen before who apparently knew him. And Yuffie, to this day, still insisted on calling him Squall in spite of his protests, so he figured she'd sent this guy his way.

Cloud's expression faltered. That's not what he was supposed to say. He was supposed to look confused a minute, then there would be a sign of recognition, and then Squall would declare his name in utter shock. They'd catch up, maybe over a drink or two, and laugh about how stupid they'd been as children. Amazing how quickly one can formulate an expectation only to have it completely and utterly dashed.

"I, that is..." He wanted to say 'you don't remember me?' but it felt too pathetic, so he just looked away huffily and said, "...it's nothing."

Squall looked at Cloud like he was crazy. "...whatever," he answered with a sigh. Wow, he hadn't said that in a while, come to think of it. But what else were you supposed to say to a crazy blond guy who slept in the middle of the street? He sidestepped around Cloud. "If you're going to fall asleep out in the open, try not to do it in the middle of the road next time. Someone might step on you."

Cloud watched him go. He wanted to say something that would stop Squall in his tracks, something that would by its very nature force him to instantly remember, but there was no such thing. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and frowned. As far as Squall was concerned, they were strangers. Cloud had no idea how to go about changing that.


	2. Memory

**Chapter 2: Memory**

_Sometimes I feel like everyone else is in on a joke that's gone over my head and I'm the only one not laughing. When I was seventeen, they dumped responsibility for Balamb Garden onto me. Ten years later, I find myself leading a different Garden, wondering how I fucked everything up this badly, and why no one is pissed. I'd be pissed. I couldn't stop half the world from being swallowed by darkness. And if that's not bad enough, I can't remember half of what I was doing when it happened. I'm sure it was all very heroic--that's what they all keep telling me. With so many huge chunks of my memory missing, I have no choice but to believe them._

_GF--Guardian Forces. If they've taught me anything it's that there's always a price. For strength, I traded off pieces of myself. I had no way of knowing which ones I'd be sacrificing, and now I find myself wondering who I would be today if my mind was in tact. Don't get me wrong; I don't regret it. I still believe that it was really the only choice I had given the circumstances at the time, but not regretting it doesn't mean I don't think about what I've thrown away, or that I don't wonder what those things might be or how important they seemed once._

_Today, I briefly met this weird blond guy. We only spoke for a minute, but he had this look on his face the whole time like his best friend had just kicked him in the face and didn't bother to apologize. It made me think of my own best friend -- Zell Dincht. I can't remember when we developed that kind of relationship, but I know what I feel. So many of the details are blurred. At the worst of times, the only reason I knew Zell was my best friend was because he kept telling me so. At the best of times, I know it because a 'best friend', I figure, is probably the only person in the universe who can annoy you so much and still make you smile in spite of yourself. I wonder what Zell is up to now? I haven't seen him in three years. I'm sure any day now he'll come barreling back into my life without warning, him and Laguna and all the others too--I sent them on an important mission. I know it was important at the time but can't seem to remember what it was or when I sent them. I sent them because they were the people I trusted most in the world. But now all I have is Yuffie and Cid to keep me company. A few others, but they're the only two that don't drive me completely up the wall, and Yuffie likes to see how far she can push it before I'll yell. She's such a brat._

_But yeah, I met this blond guy. When I described him to Yuffie, she freaked and ran off. I wonder if I've met him somewhere before. If I have, I wonder if anyone will bother to tell me._

"Squaaallll!" Yuffie bellowed.

Squall snapped his journal shut. He'd thought keeping one would help his memory, but all it really did was force him to remember dates so he could look things up later. As it turned out, he wasn't at all good with dates, so keeping the journal was basically a useless habit. Even useless habits, Squall found, could be comforting. He thought back to the GF briefly: when was the last time he'd equipped one? Four years ago? Five? He was sure he locked them away somewhere that no one (especially Yuffie) would find them, but by the time he'd let them go the damage had already been done.

"Squaaalllll," Yuffie whined.

He snapped out of his thoughts with a sigh and rubbed the scar crossing the bridge of his nose. "You're too loud," he said, sliding the book into the drawer casually as he spun the chair of his desk around. "What did you break this time?"

Yuffie puffed out her cheeks and kicked her foot at a spot of nothing just above the floor. "It's not _always_ because I broke something," she said, reaching behind the door and pulling something--no, some_one--_inside. Cloud stumbled forward. "Look! Spikey is here! I told you about Spikey!"

"Oh," Squall sad, seeing the weird guy from before. Well, it would be stranger if Yuffie had friends that were normal, probably. "You're Yuffie's friend."

"Yeah, I guess," Cloud answered. Every time Squall opened his mouth it was like someone somewhere had a voodoo doll and was stabbing it in the chest repeatedly. Once he got his mind sorted, once he'd hit a reprieve in all the endless battles, when he really sat and thought about it, his brief time in the orphanage with Squall and the others was probably the most precious memory he had in life. It was stupid, he realized now, to think that a person would remember someone they'd only known for a few months more than twenty years later, especially as young as Squall had been at the time, but the fact that Squall had left such a marked impression on him and the feeling wasn't mutual...frankly, it sucked. It made his dearest memories painful.

There was a lot of that sullen staring between them. It seemed like Squall was trying to figure him out, but Cloud could only glare back. He wanted to scream _'You know me! Don't pretend you've forgotten! Why don't you know me?'_

"See?" Yuffie said, completely oblivious. "I knew you two would get along great. All the broody staring, you're like twins--well except that you look nothing alike, and I'm pretty sure you aren't the same age , or related in any way, but, you know, other than that."

"Yeah, whatever," Squall said after a long, tense silence. He got the feeling this 'spikey'...(what did Yuffie say his name was--sky related...Cloud, that was it, a weird name to match a weird personality, but he supposed he wasn't one to talk about weird names, really) ...anyway, he had this feeling that this 'Cloud' hated him. Maybe he was holding a grudge about the rude awakening earlier.

Cloud turned on his heel abruptly and left without saying anything. It took Yuffie all of twenty seconds to realize it, at which point she stopped grinning stupidly and ran after him. "Heey! Spikey!" The door slammed behind her.

She caught up with him in the town Square. "Where are you going, you just got here?"

"Away," Cloud said, and found his tone snippier than he'd have liked.

"Cloud..." Yuffie only switched to his actual name when she sensed his brooding was serious, and not just your run of the mill, ordinary Cloud-brooding. "Hey, what's up with you? Weren't you secretly looking forward to seeing everyone, like always?"

"...what's wrong with him?" Cloud blurted. "Squall." He didn't know how he was supposed to tell Yuffie what he was feeling, but for once women's intuition hit Yuffie dead between the eyes.

"Hey!" she declared. "You! Have you and Squall met before, and you didn't tell me?"

"What does it matter? I obviously didn't leave much of an impression." This had nothing to do with Zack--he was positive. This was his own precious memory.

"Aw, Spikey, geez. Come on, sit." She pushed him down roughly onto the bench. "And listen for once, okay?"

He glared at her and crossed his arms over his chest, but didn't leave.

Yuffie heaved a deep breath. "It's not you, stupid," she said after only the barest pause. "It's his memory."

Cloud felt the tension in his spine rise, but the arms stubbornly crossing his chest dropped away. "What about his memory?"

"It's 'cause of the summons. You remember, don't you? The summon materia? We always attached them to our weapons. But it was different for those guys--Squall, Selphie, Irvy and Zell and them. They ended up in a group called SeeD that, I guess, was sort of a lot like SOLDIER in some ways." She paused as Cloud tensed. None of them had very good memories of SOLDIER. He gave her a pointed look and she continued. "It wasn't a lot of maco or anything," she said quickly. "It was the materia. I don't think I'll figure exactly how it works no matter how many times they explain, but this SeeD, they figured that the summons are a lot more powerful if they're attached directly to the person, instead of to a weapon." She bit her lip as Cloud gripped tightly to the bench rail. "Thing is," Yuffie continued, "it turns out when you do it that way, the summon thing lives not inside a materia, but inside part of your brain, or something. As it gets stronger and stuff, to make room for itself, it has to push other stuff up in your head out of the way."

"His memories," Cloud said, understanding at last. It wasn't that Squall didn't remember him because he wasn't important, or because he'd been too young. He didn't remember because something stole those important memories from him.

"Yeah," Yuffie said. "It's the worst for Squall since everyone was always depending on him--that's what Selphie said. He had to use them more than everyone else. There's a lot of stuff missing. He's managed to get things back since he doesn't use them anymore, but there's probably a lot of stuff that's gone for good. That's what he thinks, anyway." She sat next to him and let her legs swing idly. "Were you and Squally close?"

Cloud didn't answer for a long time. When he did, he said, "maybe for a little while, but I guess it doesn't matter anymore."

So much had changed. The one thing Cloud had kept as a constant was the memory of a sullen little boy in a bumble-bee striped shirt telling him so adamantly when Cloud had been adopted that he'd wait for him to come back. He remembered Squall vehemently saying he'd wait until they grew up, and when Cloud was ready, he'd still be waiting. It was a childish, impossible promise. He knew that. He didn't expect Squall to keep it, especially since the place where the promise was made no longer existed. He'd just always expected that the memory of the promise would be with both of them. It was just one more thing on a long list of things he'd been wrong about. It wasn't Squall's fault. He didn't have any right to be angry about it. Hell, he knew what it was like to be mind-fucked. He had too many. Squall had too few. If that's how it was, then he'd forget too: he'd forget about the child so he could learn about the man that child had become.

...and just maybe that would be good enough.


	3. Faded Photograph

**Chapter 3: Faded Photograph**

It was 7 a.m. Squall wandered half blind with sleep through the apartment in a pair of navy flannels. His hair was tousled from sleep and he rubbed the back of his head with a large yawn as he demanded the coffee to brew faster. Just after he poured it, the doorbell rang. He fought the impulse to destroy. Sure, he was risen, but he definitely wasn't feeling very shiny. He pushed the door open, ready to start his day with some catastrophe. After all, why else would someone be ringing his door at seven in the damn morning?

Cloud blinked at the half conscious man standing in the doorway with this look in his gunsmoke eyes that said 'this had damn well better be important.' Cloud felt his breath catch in his throat. The muscular torso was eye-level. He barely managed to keep down a blush. He'd long ago accepted where his preferences lay, but even knowing that didn't prepare him for the intricate details of the Leonhart's half-bare body. There was a large sun-shaped scar on his stomach, as if something huge had shish kabobed him. There were other scars in plenty too, but other than the one on his face, none of them were that pronounced. How could someone be so beaten up, and yet so incredibly handsome at the same time? All these thoughts raced through his mind in a matter of instants. It seemed like time moved in slow motion as Squall pouted entirely too kissable lips and sighed.

"Cloud."

Cloud snapped out of his thoughts, which really weren't at all appropriate, and said, "what?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Squall griped, but stepped aside to let him in. "You're the one who knocked on my door, in case you forgot."

"Right. Did I wake you?"

"No," Squall answered, leaning over the counter of the kitchenette. There was no table, no chairs or stools. Squall's home wasn't really set up for company. He raked his fingers through his hair, willing himself awake. "Coffee's hot, if you want some." He sipped at his, made a look like he was slightly disgusted by the taste, but took another sip anyway.

"Thanks," Cloud answered, using it as an excuse to gather his thoughts. Why had he come here anyway? What was he planning to say? It was a lot easier to make friends at eight--a lot less baggage and you couldn't help but say exactly what was on your mind because you just didn't know any better. "...I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I've been on the road a while. I guess I was more tired than I thought," he finally settled on, bringing half a cup of the black tar Squall called coffee over to the counter. He didn't think he'd be able to drink it. It looked like motor oil. Even Squall looked like he was managing to ingest it only at the great expense to his taste buds.

"I know what that's like," Squall answered. The caffeinated tar was finally kicking in, making the morning less bright and offensive.

"Yeah, Yuffie told me you were...some kind of soldier?"

"Mercenary is probably a better word," Squall answered. "We were hired by people who couldn't fight their own battles. It didn't take long to figure out that anything you can't carry in a backpack you don't really need."

"Yeah," Cloud answered with a slight frown. "I know what that's like."

For the first time, Squall thought Yuffie was probably right, he and Cloud were cut from the same cord. It had been so long since he'd seen any of his friends from SeeD that it was really nice to be sitting across from someone who understood. "You were a soldier of some kind too?" he asked.

Cloud didn't answer right away. It was so incredibly complicated. "I thought so," he finally said, "...for a while. It's complicated."

"Everything always is," Squall answered as he stood to go wash his cup. As he put the cup in the dish drain he noticed a piece of faded paper on the floor. The edges were wrinkled. _'A photo?'_ he thought. _'Did Cloud drop this?'_ He flipped it over and found, to his extreme surprise, a picture of his much younger self (he'd know that embarrassing shirt anywhere) hugging around the shoulders of an older boy with unkempt blond hair. Ellone was slightly behind them with Quistis. Selphie and Irvine were playing in the sand. Half of Seifer's head was visible in the distance with Zell nearby, sitting on the ground in tears. But none of that really mattered. What mattered was the huge grin he was wearing. He expected to be flooded with memory, but it was a complete blank--a disappointing void in his mind where something important was supposed to be. He turned and said, "I knew you."

Cloud startled and looked up. He thought Squall had suddenly remembered something, but when he saw the faded photograph the brunette was holding loosely between his fingers it was obvious he was just reacting to what he saw.

"...it was a long time ago," Cloud said, looking away, but snatching the photo back as gently as he could.

"It was important to you," Squall replied. If it wasn't, Cloud wouldn't still be carrying around a twenty year old photograph.

"It was the past," Cloud answered again. "You don't need to make a big deal over it."

"That's why you were glaring at me yesterday. You were angry that I don't remember you."

"...I didn't know about, you know, the thing, with your memory. And anyway, you were really young then. It's stupid. Just let it go."

"What would you have done if I did remember, Cloud?"

"I don't know. Nothing, I guess. I was just surprised to see you again, that's all. Forget about it."

Forget about it? How could he? Even a brief look at the photo told Squall that Cloud was someone very important to him. He just didn't know why or how or for how long and it upset him that he couldn't remember ever being as happy as what he saw staring up at him from the age-weathered paper that Cloud had kept with him for so long. "I think I've forgotten enough important things for one lifetime," Squall answered. Why couldn't he remember? It was something so important, and it was just _gone_. "Who was I to you, Cloud?"

Cloud found himself wishing that Squall would put on a damn shirt. It was hard to focus on minimizing his embarrassment when his eyes kept wanting to wander over the other man's bare flesh. "...just a friend."

"You keep twenty year old pictures of all your friends?"

"I haven't had that many," Cloud sulked defensively.

Squall didn't know what came over him when he suddenly pulled the blond up against him in a tight embrace, but he knew it felt amazingly right--like a hole somewhere in the pit of his stomach that he hadn't realized was empty had suddenly been filled. "You were precious to me."

Cloud blushed against Squall's shoulder. "S-squall..."

"I wish I could remember why. I'm sorry, Cloud."

"Don't apologize." Dammit. He couldn't resist any longer and wrapped his arms around the taller man's waist, let himself relax into the embrace. He wasn't reading levels into it. Squall was just acting on some kind of instinct, but whatever the reason, it still felt nice. It was what he needed from the brunette. He was a grown man, and not stupid--he knew what he _wanted_ was much more intense, but that was a completely separate issue. He'd missed this man _so much_; he hadn't realized just how much until he felt the arms--much different than they used to be--wrapped tightly around him again. It's amazing, Cloud thought, how sometimes something as simple as a hug can make you feel like the world suddenly makes sense again.

He didn't know if they stayed that way for hours, or just an instant, but Squall loosened his grip at some point and slipped away. "...an apology is all I have to offer," Squall said quietly. "We'll get together later. Dinner, maybe. I have a lot to do today."

"Yeah, sure," Cloud said. "I'll stop by again another time." His heart felt heavy and swollen in his chest. Maybe Squall would never remember the past they shared. But maybe, Cloud thought, they could make new memories together that would stick--better ones.


	4. True Love

**Chapter Four: True Love**

The thing Squall hated most about reconstructing Radiant Garden was that every time he fixed on thing, someone came along and broke something else. And then there were the heartless--who had no respect at all for personal property, or property in general for that matter. He cut down the last of the current swell effortlessly and raked his fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back into the sun, let it soak in a little. Radiant Garden, indeed. They talked about it as if it had always been here, but it had only gotten that name when Balamb's engine failed. They'd rooted it where it landed. At the time, there had been a small village nearby and a castle in the distance. Gradually, the town expanded and swelled until Garden became part of it. That's when it got the new name. That's when, somehow, by chance, the people of the town came to depend on him the same way everyone else did. He didn't understand how these things happened, but the older he got the more he felt like he understood Laguna a little better--it was hard to walk away from people when they were asking for help. And he liked helping, really--almost as much as he liked to complain about it. Thing is...he couldn't help but wonder how much more of himself he was going to have to sacrifice for everyone else.

Cloud. Why couldn't he remember Cloud? Shouldn't the most important memories be the last to fade? It bothered him, and he found himself going out of his way to cut down heartless because it was the only way he could think of to ease some of his frustration. He wasn't a fool. He knew that even though his mind thought he only knew Cloud a few short days, his heart said something completely different. It was difficult to reconcile the two. And not being able to reconcile them meant he didn't know how to act--how familiar, or how cautious.

"Hey Commander, sleepin' on the job?"

Squall jumped and spun about. "Irvine?!!" It had been three years. Irvine looked like he hadn't shaved in a day or two. His long hair was bound now into a braid instead of a ponytail, but other than that, he hadn't changed much. He had the same stupid hat, the same cocky grin. The khaki travel pack slung over his shoulder was the same one Selphie had patched for him with a sunflower just before they left.

"What?" Irivine asked. "You're not going to give me hell about coming back so late?"

"I would," Squall answered, "except that I don't remember what I sent you off to do."

Irvine laughed and dropped his bag to the side to pull Squall into a man-hug. That's when Cloud turned the corner. He'd been planning to bring Squall some lunch--he would claim he just bought too much and couldn't eat it all, and then find an excuse to stay--help with the heartless, or something. He was sure that Squall, even if he couldn't remember him with his brain, still knew him in the most important ways. The way Squall talked to him said so. In two short days they'd become almost inseparable. He'd been afraid his memories would add up to a childish crush, but he was more attached to Squall than ever, and he felt like the feeling was mutual. If he just stuck around long enough...

...but then he turned the corner and saw his Squall hugging another man. He didn't hang around to find out who it was. He tossed the meal he'd intended to share in a trash can and ran off to take out some of his anguish on the heartless by the castle. There were always heartless by the castle. Lots of them. Squall already had someone? That wasn't fair!

"It's good to see you again," Squall said, pulling back. "The others?"

"Seffie's shuttin' down the gummi. Zell and your old man are unloadin' 'er. I told 'em I'd go on ahead and find you. Let you know we were back. Everywhere we went, someone'd been there before us. Looks like sending us off to right the wrongs of the universe was pointless."

"Right. The heartless. I sent you to see how far the damage had spread and take care of them where you could," Squall remembered.

"Yeah, thing is..."

"...it must have been Sora and his friends."

"Sora?"

"Long story," Squall said. "A lot's happened since then."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Irvine said.

"Listen, Irvine, your memory, it's still pretty good, right?" The amount of things Irvine could remember sometimes scared him. It was like he had a video camera running in his brain that could call up any moment in his entire life on a whim.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Cloud. Someone named Cloud, do you remember him? From..."

Irvine's eyes widened in shock before Squall finished what he was saying. "Cloud is here? Seriously? That's great, man!" he slapped Squall on the back before realizing Squall was asking because he honestly didn't know who the blond was. "Squall, you..."

"Who was he to me, Irvine? He was someone important, wasn't he?"

Irvine wondered how much he should say, but he was no shrink, so he decided just to answer. He shrugged a bit. "He was your Seffie, man."

Squall found himself sinking to a nearby step. His Seffie. He knew what Irvine meant by that. Irvine was born to love Selphie. So if what he said was true, then Cloud had been everything to him, more important even than his sis--the very reason for his existence. His heart confirmed this, even if his mind still struggled with details that felt like they would always be just beyond reach.

"Sooo?" Irvine hedged, sitting beside Squall with a grin, nudging him with his elbow.

"So?" Squall asked, still unable to trace Irvine's thought patterns properly.

"You gonna go for it, Commander?"

Squall choked a bit and fought a losing battle with a blush. "That's none of your business!"

"What's none of our business?" a voice from behind them said.

Squall found himself exclaiming again. "Zell!" Beside the martial artist was a familiar girl in a yellow jumper. Her hair was a little overgrown. "Selphie!" Luckily, neither of them deigned to hug him. It was a relief, because he liked his ribcage in tact and they were both ridiculously strong.

Then, there was Laguna. The man rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "...hey." He obviously wanted to give Squall a giant hug, but knew that their relationship had never become that close, so he kept his hands to himself.

Squall crossed his arms over his chest and looked off to the side. "...hey." Was it always going to be this awkward? "...welcome back."

Laguna smiled.

"I, uhm, I have...this thing," Squall said clumsily. "You know, an important thing to do. So, you're probably tired, and everything. Here." He pushed his keys onto Zell. "You can rest at my place. It's just where it always was."

Selphie tilted her head quizzically to the side as he wandered off. "What was that about?" she asked.

Irvine grinned, draping his arm around her shoulders. "True love, I'd wager," he replied.


	5. The Prologue

**Chapter Five: The Prologue**

"What are you doing?"

"Killing things, what does it look like?" Cloud snapped irritably.

"Did I do something to piss you off?" Squall asked, slicing through a pair of heartless approaching from the left.

"Think you'd know if you did," Cloud answered tersely, jumping forward to slice through another.

"You would think," Squall answered flatly.

"Won't your boyfriend be upset if he finds you killing things with another man?" Cloud snapped. He didn't know what had come over him. He knew he had no reason to feel this betrayed. It wasn't as if he'd never been with anyone. Things happen. People change. Time moves on and they had no way of knowing they'd ever meet again. But he wasn't seeing anyone _now_, and Squall was, and it _sucked_ because Squall seemed so much more important to him than everything else.

"My _what_?!" Squall got a shallow cut across his arm while exclaiming his surprise. He sliced through the heartless that did it and finished off another three. It seemed that they were hitting a lull. Once Cloud ran out of things to kill maybe they could have a conversation that made sense. "Either I've forgotten way more than I think, or you're completely delusional."

"I didn't know you'd grow up to be a liar," Cloud said. Why? Why couldn't he just shut his big mouth. "I _saw you_ together. I saw you hugging that guy like you'd die without him."

It took Squall a moment. Had he hugged someone recently? And when he realized what Cloud thought, he started laughing. He actually, honestly, couldn't stop himself from laughing as hard as he could because the thought of him _ever_ being involved in that way with _Irvine_ was just so completely ridiculous there was no other way to answer the accusation. "You thought... me... with... haha... hahaha... _Irvine_ of all people? hahaha....Are you completely insane?" Hyne, Cloud was cute. Had he always been this cute?

Cloud paused. "That...was Irvine?"

"Yeah," Squall answered, smirking as he ran through the last of the current group of heartless. "The guys just got back. It's the first I've seen any of them in three years. Of course there was hugging involved. I'm relieved that they're all still _alive_. Besides, Irvine's practically been married to Selphie since birth, hasn't he?"

Cloud hid a little disappointment that Squall could remember that, but not him. "So...you're not seeing anyone?" he asked. He really hoped that didn't sound as desperate as he thought it did.

Squall considered for a moment how he should answer. Cloud's question confirmed his suspicion that Cloud also felt the chemistry between them. "Well, I guess that depends," he said at last.

"Depends? Depends on what?" Cloud asked tensely, sheathing his buster sword.

It was a bit more awkward to say than Squall wanted to admit, but he figured--hell with it, life is short. "...on whether or not I'm seeing you."

Cloud's eyes widened. Was Squall serious? "Huh?" Oh, yeah, that was a brilliant reply.

Squall sighed and sheathed his gunblade. "I know I don't remember meeting you the first time, or how things were for us as children. That must be hard on you," he said as patiently as he could. "But I know I _feel like_ I've known you forever. I know since I nearly stepped on you yesterday, I've barely thought about anything but you. I figure that's got to mean something."

It wasn't exactly a confession of undying love, but Cloud didn't think Squall was really the kind of guy to make such confessions. That was fine, because he'd be too embarrassed to form a decent reply. And anyway, it would sort of be weird to confess your undying devotion to someone you haven't even known a week, right?

When Cloud didn't answer, Squall pressed on. "I didn't remember the others right away either. Once we were all together again, months passed, and then we got these little snatches. Maybe with enough time, I'll be able to remember you too, but...I can't promise that."

Cloud sighed. "No, the past is fine where it is," he answered. He got the feeling it bothered Squall that he didn't remember more than it bothered him. Details weren't that important as long as their hearts were saying the same thing. "It doesn't matter if you remember me or not."

"Cloud..?"

Cloud took a deep breath before locking his mako eyes with Squall's steel. "We'll just have to make new memories, you know, starting from now."

"Starting from now, huh?" Something about the clumsily offered phrase seemed unreasonably romantic to Squall.

"...yeah." Cloud must have sensed it too, because he broke the gaze first, blushing slightly.

Squall pulled Cloud forward and tilted his chin up to force him to meet his gaze again. Cloud felt one of the brunette's strong arms wrap around his lower back. "That, I can do," Squall said, and pressed their lips together curling his fingers into Cloud's messy blond hair.

Cloud found himself responding eagerly. He wrapped his arms around Squall's neck. Their relationship, he knew, was a little untraditional. There were two days, and also an entire lifetime between them, but if he thought about it the history between them was pretty trivial. After all, they were together again, finally and for the first time all at once. He rested his head against Squall's shoulder and let himself melt a little into the younger man's embrace, listened to the soft rhythm of his breathing. Knowing Squall when they were children, he figured, was only the prologue, and no one ever remembers the prologue anyway. This moment, holding one another tightly and not really knowing what it was that drew them together--many years from now, _this_ is where they would say their story really began.

_**~The End~**_


End file.
